Observation: In his struggle against both foreign enemies and also the king of Israel, Ahaz (the king of Judah) requests aid from Assyria. This will be the beginning of the end for Israel. Assyria will quickly vanquish Aram, but will then proceed to Samaria, and in a few years will totally defeat the northern kingdom of Israel, sending those Jews into exile, and thus ending Israel's occupation of most of the promised land.
The irony of this involves who the Assyrian's are and where they come from. Without getting too much into a study of people and geography, they are ... from the land of Ur. The Assyrians are the ancestral people of Abraham, the people whom Abraham was called out of, told to leave their land, and promised the new land his family would eventually occupy.
God made Abraham a promise. If Abraham would obey the Lord, leave his land and people, and place his faith in Yahweh, the Lord would make him a great nation of priests fully occupying the land of Canaan. Abraham did this, and Yahweh did this. Approximately 1,000 years later, full of sin against the Lord, in violation of the covenant, actively worshipping other gods ... Abraham's descendants are removed from Canaan - at the request of one part of Abraham's descendants - by Abraham's own ancestors.
Application: In calling upon Assyria, Ahaz shows he has forgotten everything about the Lord's covenant with Abraham. Yes, he is ignoring the Mosaic covenant as well, actively overturning the rules and practices given to the Jews in the wilderness, to the point that he discards the alter for the burnt offerings designed by the Lord himself. However, Ahaz has gone a step further, totally ignoring the origination of their entire people-group ... Abraham was called out from Assyria to be special, and Ahaz now calls upon Assyria to eliminate - assimilate - most of Abraham's descendants.
I know the Lord has made promises to us who believe in Jesus Christ. Do I remember those promises? Or do I act in a manner that not only breaks God's instructions, but discards the promises themselves, rolling back history, and undermining the basis of very covenant of the Messiah? This is a tough question. By reading God's word, I believe I am at least aware of the covenant, and I keep the core of that, which is faith in Jesus as Messiah. I retain that hope and always will. I know I could do better in obeying the teaching of Jesus, however I am not seeking out ways that some worldly concept could eliminate Jesus, or the Church.
As for my continued learning and awareness, I will continue to seek - and cling to - the promises of the Lord.
Prayer: Lord, yes, I seek your promises in my life. I know you have given so much through the covenant of Jesus. May I continue to center my entire life within that covenant, body, mind, heart, and soul. Amen.
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